“What should you do for entertainment?”

In this blog we compare the pros and cons between science entertainment to the classic magician.

Two popular choices are a traditional magic show and the increasingly popular science birthday party like the ones we offer here at Devon Science. Both can be brilliant ways to celebrate, but if you’re looking for something a little different this year, we think a science party might just be the perfect choice!

So, let’s put them head-to-head. Is a magician the way to go, or could a science party be key to an unforgettable birthday?

The Magician: A Classic Choice

Magicians have been entertaining for generations. With disappearing acts, surprising tricks and plenty of wow moments to engage the audience, a magic show can be a fantastic way to keep a room full of little ones engaged.

Magic is great for children who love a bit of mystery and surprise. They can watch in amazement and spend the rest of the afternoon trying to work out how it was all done!

A magician can also be a convenient option for parents. The entertainment is usually organised around a performance, so there’s no need to plan lots of separate activities yourself. But what happens when the show is over? For some children, the excitement might fade once the magician packs away their props. While magic can certainly get young minds wondering, the kids don’t always get the chance to explore those questions for themselves.

The Science Party: New, Fun, Hands-On

So, imagine a birthday party where the children aren’t just watching the entertainment, they’re a part of it!

A science party turns your child’s special day into an opportunity to experiment, investigate and discover some amazing things about the science behind the fun they can create. Instead of sitting quietly and watching someone else perform, they can get stuck in with hands-on activities and the exciting demonstrations often end with all the children involved too!

Our science party finale experiment!

Bubbling potions, colourful chemical reactions, slime, science crafts, and plenty of those wow moments that make a birthday party exciting. The children don’t just get to see something incredible happen, they can start to understand WHY it happens too.

At a great science birthday party, the learning part doesn’t feel like school, it feels like play! Children become naturally curious about the how and why behind science, and our activities encourage this exact discussion. With a well-educated scientist running your child’s party, all questions can be answered and the kids can discover that science is happening all around them.

Even better, you don’t need to be a budding scientist to enjoy it. Science parties are designed to make discovery fun for everyone, whether your child already loves experiments or has never picked up a test tube before.

A giant erupting cauldron at our Magical Potions Party

Why Choose a Science Party Over a Magician?

While a magician can put on a wonderful show, a science party offers a few extra things that make it a particularly exciting choice for a children’s birthday: Everyone gets to join in! Science can be just as spectacular as magic. Unlike a traditional magic trick, where the secret might be kept under wraps, science encourages children to investigate the explanation. The mystery doesn’t have to end when the experiment does. This sparks curiosity long after the party ends and the secret to a brilliant birthday party is that it doesn’t have to stop being exciting when the guests go home. What is better than an unforgettable birthday!

By inspiring children to keep exploring, it opens a world of fun and at-home science. They might go home wanting to try a simple experiment, learn more about space, investigate bugs in the garden or ask their parents a hundred questions about how the world works. You never know, a birthday party could be the start of a lifelong love of science!

The great thing about a Science party is that there’s something for lots of different personalities. Not every child wants to sit still and watch a magic show, and not every child wants to stand at the front of a room to volunteer for a magic trick. Some prefer watching for a short while before moving on to something else and others love getting completely hands-on, and plenty enjoy a bit of both. A well-planned science party can offer a mix of demonstrations, group participation and opportunities to engage and ask questions. That variety can make it a great choice for a birthday group with different interests and confidence levels.

And what about the mess? It’s a fair question! Unlike a magic show, science parties can get a little messy. Foam and glitter, slime, coke and mentos! The good news is that with our parties at Devon Science we bring the equipment as well as tidy and pack everything away. Thanks to our great workshop leaders who are excellent at overseeing all the experiments, there should never be too much mess, leaving you free to enjoy the celebrations.

Dry ice potion making at our Dry Ice Science Party

And remember: exciting science doesn’t have to mean a room full of mess, although sometimes that’s half the fun! With the right activities and one of our experienced team members, children can enjoy other spectacular experiments that don’t need much of a clean-up but still give them plenty to enjoy long after the party is over.

As well as providing the party entertainment, with Devon Science we offer activities and crafts that allow the children to make something to take home, whether that’s slime, a magic wand, a bubbly lava lamp or a balloon-powered car! That also leaves the party bags sorted.

So, if you want to try something new and exciting for your child’s birthday rather than the classic magician party, head over to our science party page to enquire

Planning a Science Birthday Party for your 8 year old in Devon, Dorset, Cornwall or Somerset?

If you’re thinking a science party is the way to go for your next children’s party, check out our party page here which lists the themes we offer, photos, prices and reviews, and you can read about the kind of things we get up to at our science parties here.

This video is an example of our Harry Potter Party

Here is a slime party

and here is our chemistry party…….

Ready to give your child a birthday party they’ll never forget? Devon Science brings exciting, hands-on science birthday parties for children, packed with fun science experiments, creations to take home, fabulous entertainment, and plenty of WOW moments. Every guest becomes a scientist! Leave the mess to us. 

Get in touch here to find out more about our science parties and check availability for your child’s birthday.

Happy Science-party-ing

Sophie

Blogger at Devon Science

The post Science Party or a Party Magician? appeared first on Devon Science.

Children shouldn’t just sit and watch a science demonstration, they should be making, predicting, and experimenting. From bubbling reactions to making your own slime, here are some of our best party ideas to help you turn your child’s birthday into an unforgettable scientific adventure.

1. Fizz, Foam and Fun!

Fizzy erupting fun!

If there’s one thing guaranteed to get a room full of eight-year-olds excited, it’s an experiment that fizzes, bubbles or foams.

Simple chemical reactions can introduce children to some fascinating science while still creating an exciting and memorable experience.

Children can investigate what happens when different materials are combined and participate in their own testing and predicting.

You could explore gases, acids and bases, changes of state, reaction rates. The best experiments for WOW factor would be the Elephant’s Toothpaste or baking powder and vinegar volcanoes, Coke and Mentos geyser (see our blog for the best Coke & Mentos tips here), and bubbly lava lamps using effervescent tablets.

Bubbling lava lamp

Check out our blog here on how to make a lava lamp and this blog teaches you how to make “fireworks in a jar” experiment.

We also host Crazy Chemistry themed science parties which is our most popular party choice. So if you’d rather leave the ingredients and mess to us, feel free to get in contact!

2. Slime Science

Of course, you can’t talk about science party ideas for 8 year olds without mentioning slime!

Slime is a huge favourite because it’s colourful, messy and wonderfully satisfying to play with. There’s also some great science hiding inside it. Children can explore how the ingredients of slime interact and discover how altering a mixture can change its properties.

Slime can be a fantastic addition to a science birthday party, particularly because children can create something themselves and take their scientific creation home. Just try to avoid any slime near your hair! 

We have a wonderful blog here which tells you all the instructions for the perfect slime. You can also get creative by adding sequins and glitter to your slime. If your child has a birthday that falls around Halloween, spooky fluorescent slime is especially fun to create. 

Our online shop offers slime kits put together by our team to ensure you can create the best slime with your children without the hassle and stress of finding and buying the right ingredients – the activator you choose makes all the difference. You can have a browse here.

3. Wildlife Science

Got an animal or nature lover? A wildlife or animal-themed science birthday party can be a brilliant way to explore the science of the natural world. Encourage your children to ask (and answer): 

How do certain animals camouflage themselves?

How do insects communicate?

How do animals survive in extreme environments?

Why do some animals have such unusual adaptations?

Then get outside and explore the wonders of the natural world. Magnifying glasses, friendly bug catchers, binoculars, pocket microscopes are all things that would help a child engage in a wildlife themed science party. Perhaps you could put together an explorers kit and bring a journal to document your findings!

From looking at habitats and animals up close, there are great opportunities to turn children’s fascination with animals into hands-on science. Just remember to be respectful of nature and follow the leave no trace principles.

Our shop also sells owl pellets for dissection for those who want to explore wildlife and nature science at home. 

4. Discover the Science of Light

Light is another fantastic theme for a children’s science party; it can feel so magical while being all about science. Children can investigate colour, shadows, reflections and optical illusions while discovering the science behind what they see.

There are plenty of light-focused experiments to try at home for your 8-year-old’s science party, here’s an easy light refraction one to try:

DIY Rainbow Maker

What you need: A shallow tray or bowl of water, a small mirror, and sunshine!

How to do it: Place the mirror into the tray at an angle under the water. Angle the mirror towards the sunlight (you can be outdoors or indoors) to shine a bright beam of sunlight onto the submerged part of the mirror. Hold a white piece of paper in front of the reflection to catch the rainbow. Its takes a little fiddling to get the angle just right, but when it does the rainbow is spectacular!

Why it works: Water and mirror splits white sunlight (called refraction) into its individual wavelengths of colour, shown as a bright rainbow!

Get creative and try some of our other light experiments such as the Orbeez Magic or our Glow-in-the-Dark Orbeez

5. Bath Bomb Science

Do you have an 8-year-old that loves pretty colours and a bit of a pamper? Making bath bombs might be the perfect choice for a fun, crafty science party for your child. 

You can easily make bath bombs at home, you just need citric acid and sodium bicarbonate, food colouring, and essential oils. You can follow our tutorial here. Children can choose their own scent, colours and shape, and have a relaxing experience while still learning all about science. 

Of course at the end each child has a bath bomb of their own creation they can take home and use! This party idea is great for those that enjoy a cosy, calm activity for their birthday.

Our online shop stocks bath bomb kits for those looking to make easy, hassle-free bath bombs!

Planning a Science Birthday Party for your 8 year old in Devon, Dorset, Cornwall or Somerset?

If you’re searching for a science party in Devon, Dorset, Cornwall or Somerset, choosing a science party with us at Devon Science can make planning your child’s birthday much easier. We can bring the science to you, in your home or chosen party venue. 

Ready to give your child a birthday party they’ll never forget? Devon Science brings exciting, hands-on science birthday parties for children, packed with fun science experiments, creations to take home, fabulous entertainment, and plenty of WOW moments. Every guest becomes a scientist! Leave the mess to us. 

Get in touch here to find out more about our science parties and check availability for your child’s birthday.

Happy Science-party-ing

Sophie

Blogger at Devon Science

The post Science Birthday Party Ideas for an 8 Year Old appeared first on Devon Science.

Damselflies: Tiny Wings, Wonderful Science!

Have you ever spotted a small, colourful insect flying near a pond or stream? At a glance, you might assume it to be a dragonfly, but in fact it might have been a damselfly!

Earlier this week, we found a blue damselfly called a Beautiful Demoiselle on our windowsill. It had sadly died but we took the chance to take a closer look at this fascinating little insect under the microscope. We share our microscopic discoveries over on our social media pages, and now we’re excited to share some of the science behind this amazing creature with you.

Below is our close-up video of the blue colour of this damselfly, which isn’t a pigment, but the way the light is reflected from it.

Damselflies are small four-winged insects that have lived on Earth for more than 300 million years. Like all insects, damselflies have six legs, three body sections and an exoskeleton. Their body is divided into a head, thorax and abdomen. These delicate-looking insects are actually amazing little hunters.

Let’s discover some fun facts about them!

1. Damselflies have four wings and each can move independently

Damselflies have four wings, which help them fly, hover and change direction quickly. The muscles controlling their flight allow the forewings and hindwings to move with independence. This gives them a great sense of control when flying.

The iridescence and beautiful colours of their wings are created by the intricate network of veins bending and reflecting specific wavelengths of light. Under a microscope, you’ll find an intricate network of veins and cross-veins forming hundreds of tiny sections in the membrane of their wing.

Damselfly wing under the microscope showing veins and toothed edge

Damselfly wing under the microscope with a darkfield background to show blue colour reflecting back

2. They have huge compound eyes

A damselfly’s eyes take up a lot of its head! Their eyes are made up of thousands of hexagonal lenses called ommatidia. Each ommatidium detects light from a slightly different direction, and the brain combines all this information to create a picture of the world. This gives them an incredible field of vision, perfect for helping them spot tiny insects while they are flying.

Did you know? Damselflies can actually see in colour! Their eyes contain several types of photoreceptors, cells that respond to different wavelengths of light. Some species can even detect parts of the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, which humans cannot see.

3. They are expert hunters

Damselflies eat small insects, including mosquitoes, flies and tiny bugs. They are aerial hunters, meaning they catch their prey while flying through the air, sometimes even intercepting, by catching and carrying the insect using their six legs arranged like a basket. They then use their mandibles and labium (lower lip) to eat.

4. They spend a large portion of their lives underwater

Young damselflies, called nymphs, live underwater in ponds, streams and other freshwater habitats. They can spend months or even years underwater before becoming adults. Even before they can fly, damselfly nymphs are little predators too. They hunt tiny creatures such as mosquito larvae and other aquatic animals. Interestingly, when they are nymphs, the labium is the damselfly’s secret weapon, launching and spearing any underwater prey.

5. Damselflies are related to dragonflies

Damselflies and dragonflies belong to the same insect group, Odanata. They look similar, but there is an easy way to tell them apart: when resting, damselflies usually hold their wings together above their body, while dragonflies usually keep theirs spread out. A dragonflies eyes are often larger and closer together than the damselflies, which are separated by a noticeable gap.

However, both are flying predators with four wings, huge compound eyes and aquatic young that hunt underwater. Their ‘toothed’ mouthparts help group them as cousins!

Damselfly (left) and dragonfly (right) showing that the damselfly has a noticeable gap between the eyes, whereas the dragonfly’s eye are large and touch in the middle!

Lastly, Damselflies are incredibly helpful to us.

Because damselflies eat lots of small insects, they help keep insect populations under control. They are also a sign of a healthy freshwater environment. So next time you are around a pond or stream, stop and take a closer look! You might be able to spot a damselfly, and witness for yourself the fast-flying, clever hunters that have a fascinating life both above and below the water.

Microscope workshops

If you are looking for something a bit different for your venue, school or event, you can book us for educational and fun run drop in science workshops that are focused around learning and using microscopes.

If you are a teacher, or run a group, check out our page here

Here’s a drop-in microscopy workshop that we did at the RAMM in Exeter:

To see more things close up under the microscope, check out our blog “Everyday Things to look at under the Microscope” here

We also put a Daddy Long Legs under the microscope recently too – eeek!!

Happy Science-ing

Sophie

Blogger at Devon Science

Want easy science experiments to do at home?

Head on over to  our blog find out other cool experiments such as Glowing Fluorescent Liquid or the Super Easy 6 – a free download with 6 super-easy experiments to try at home! Our shop for made to order science kits, can be found here.

The post Don’t mix your damsels with your dragons appeared first on Devon Science.

Phew!! Read on to find out about these wriggly creatures, their weird webs, and crazy adult moths!

We’ve seen these webs in two different counties

1. on our coastal walks in North Devon and
2. in Shropshire hedgerows

but they actually belong to two distinct species of caterpillar. Lets take a quick look at each one separately.

THE LACKEY CATERPILLAR & MOTH – NORTH DEVON COASTS

The Lackey moth & caterpillar is common in the southern England, especially near the coast, it is frequently found on blackthorn and hawthorn hedges. They can be seen sitting in their web if they have been left undisturbed, like the ones we photographed near Westward Ho!.

They grow to about 5cm and have blue, orange & white striped, hairy bodies. Their long hairs protect against predators and they will retreat into their web when in danger. From April to June, the caterpillars munch their way through the shrubs, spinning a silk web as they grow. When fully grown, they find a suitable place low to the ground hidden amongst plants to spin a cocoon and pupate. The adult moths emerge within a month, by July.

The moths are 2-3cm wide and are not as attractive as the caterpillars, being beige to brown in colour, with a furry body and large feathery antennae. To see the adult moths click here. The Lackey moth lays its eggs in neat rows on the stems of their favourite shrubs in late summer, you can see these on the right hand branch in the photos below.

The adult moths are strongly attracted to light and often fly indoors at night crashing straight into lightbulbs, and zoom around haphazardly, bumping into everything!

THE ERMINE CATERPILLAR & MOTH – SHROPSHIRE COUNTRYSIDE

The Ermine caterpillars appear in May and quickly spin these huge webs that cover shrubs and hedges. They use the webs for protection and stay together in large numbers. The webs are more extensive than the Lackey moth. The Ermine caterpillars are a similar size to the Lackey, but don’t have the distinct striped pattern and aren’t as hairy!

They feed ferociously on the foliage for about 6 weeks, then transform into the moth form. Although there are different species of Ermine moths, they are all grey or white with lots of black spots, such as the White Ermine moth, seen here.

This web was in a hedge near Ludlow in Shropshire.

Safety in numbers!

We watched the caterpillars for a while. They had pathways which they crawled down to ground level to munch on different plants. They followed each other along these webby paths, like a walking bus! They used the same path way to crawl back up, creating traffic jams!  You can see them in action in my video here.

I noticed that the large webs also collected moisture as you can see here in these droplets of water. As caterpillars don’t drink water, I suspect this was not a water-capturing mechanism employed by them.

The Ermine web we found near Ludlow is very modest, check out this enormous web created by the same caterpillar on this entire tree covered in Yorkshire.

So if you come across dense webs in shrubs that look like this, do take a closer look……although I can’t guarantee what will be lurking inside!

Happy Science-ing

Ruth

Chief Scientist at Devon Science

Want easy science experiments to do at home?

Head on over to our blog find out other cool experiments such as Glowing Fluorescent Liquid or the Super Easy 6 – a free download with 6 super-easy experiments to try at home! Our shop for made to order science kits, can be found here.

The post Caterpillars in Webs? appeared first on Devon Science.

The post What to expect at our Children’s Science Birthday Parties appeared first on Devon Science.

—–

Light-Up Lightning Lava Lamp

Materials

• A medium sized glass or plastic container
• Cooking oil (any kind)
• Baking soda (also known as Bicarbonate of soda or Sodium bicarbonate)
• Clear vinegar
• Red food colouring (optional or use another colour)
• Coaster light – this is optional (they’re about £2 to purchase online) , instead you could use your phone light underneath.

Method

1. Into the container I put 2 heaped dessert spoons of baking soda, then poured in the oil, to about 2/3rds up, making sure to leave a room for vinegar.
2. I dyed the clear vinegar red with some food colouring, and then poured it in, almost to the top, and left the lid off!
3. Very quickly the bubble started to appear, rising up through the oil.
4. I turned on the coaster light that we’d bought for a light-up effect, it looked so cool. It was like bubbling lava erupting from a volcano during a lightning storm!

Try this activity at night with the room’s main light switch off – soooo effective, really fun!

The science bit!

Baking soda is Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and is a  alkali. It reacts with vinegar (acetic acid – an acid) to produce the gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), which bubbles upwards through the oil. The substance left behind – a white gloopy substance – is called sodium acetate and water:

sodium bicarbonate + acetic acid ——–> carbon dioxide + sodium acetate + water

As these 2 products build up (sodium acetate and water) the reaction slows down and, so to repeat it you’ll need to add more baking soda and vinegar.

Had as much fun as we did? Then feel free to share your pictures with us on Facebook.

Want more easy fun science recipes?

Check out our other How To blogs here:

Make Fluorescent glowing goo from a yellow highlighter pen

or
Gummy Bear Osmosis

or
Our fave, easy experiments to try

Good luck and have a happy science-ing.

If you tackle this activity at home you do so at your own risk. If you have as much fun as we did, feel free to share your pictures with us on Facebook.
Bye for now
Ruth

Chief Scientist at Devon Science

The post Easy Science Experiment for Kids: Light-Up Lava Lamp [new recipe] appeared first on Devon Science.

Our Brilliant Dry Ice Potions for Family & Children’s Entertainment

In a world filled with countless ways to engage children’s curiosity, our dry ice family & children’s entertainment stands out as a unique and captivating experience. Run by trained scientists, these family & children’s entertainment (shows and workshops) offer an exciting blend of fun, science, and hands-on learning, all while ensuring safety. Read on to dive into the incredible world of dry ice potions and how they can be a remarkable addition to drop-in family & children’s entertainment for your customers.

Hands-On Learning & Fun

The heart of our workshops lies in hands-on learning. Children will get to witness the enchanting fog produced when dry ice reacts with water. In our dry ice workshops, children create their own potions in mini cauldrons, and experiment with various stylised ingredients to create colourful and bubbling concoctions. This not only sparks their creativity but also helps them understand the basics of chemistry and the scientific method.

We can delivery this in 3 ways:

1) AN INTERACTIVE SHOW (20-30 mins)

2) A DROP IN DRY ICE POTION MAKING (5-10 mins to make 1 potion)

3) A WORKSHOP – would include demo’s & potion making (ranges from 30 – 60 mins)

Our exciting family & children’s entertainment packages start at £600.

CONTACT US FOR A QUOTE OR FOR MORE INFORMATION

Unleash the Imagination

Our dry ice potion workshops go beyond simple science experiments. They encourage imaginative play, allowing children to be mad scientists or witches brewing magical elixirs. This imaginative aspect not only ignites their creativity but also builds their storytelling skills, making learning fun and memorable.

The Magic of Dry Ice Potions

These workshops offer a unique and unforgettable experience for children. Under the guidance of trained scientists, they get to witness the transformative power of science, sparking their curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. Additionally, the visual appeal of the bubbling, foggy potions creates a sense of wonder that will stay with them long after the session ends.

The Science of Dry Ice

Dry ice, the solid form of carbon dioxide, is a fascinating substance with properties that make it perfect for thrilling experiments. Trained scientists will guide youngsters through the scientific wonders of dry ice, as they watch it sublimate to create its sublime and mystical fog. With safety as our top priority, you can rest assured that children are in capable hands.

A Perfect Addition to Public Entertainment Activities

If you’re looking for something unique and different to offer for your customers, whether you’re a museum, shopping centre, adventure park or another public space, our Dry Ice Potion Workshops are the perfect choice. These workshops provide an exciting and educational drop-in activity that will leave both children and parents amazed and eager for more.

Our exciting family & children’s entertainment packages start at £600.

CONTACT US FOR A QUOTE OR FOR MORE INFORMATION

Safety First

Our workshops are conducted by scientists who are well-versed in the safety protocols and guidelines associated with working with dry ice. Children will be closely supervised to ensure a secure and educational environment. We provide protective gear, including gloves and safety glasses, to prevent any mishaps during the workshop, making it an excellent choice for public entertainment activities in various settings.

Conclusion

Our Dry Ice Potion Workshops for children, led by trained scientists, are not only fun and educational but also safe. They introduce young minds to the wonders of science in an unforgettable way and foster a love for learning, all while igniting their creativity and imagination. Whether you’re a museum or shopping centre looking to provide something exciting and different, consider adding our workshops to your list of public entertainment activities and watch as children’s eyes light up with amazement as they create their own magical potions.

Our exciting family & children’s entertainment packages start at £600.

CONTACT US FOR A QUOTE OR FOR MORE INFORMATION

The post Dry Ice Potions: Perfect for Family & Children’s Entertainment appeared first on Devon Science.

You’ll need: the template (see below) & something to use as 2 weights to alter the centre of gravity so that it balances in this vertical position, we use either pennies as in the picture above, or sticky tack (e.g. blue tack) or use play dough.

So, are you ready to make a gravity defying Skeleton? Lets go……

Step 1) Print off the template onto A4 paper then stick onto card, or print directly onto A4 white card.

click here to download the template.

Step 2) Cut out the skeleton along the lines

Step 3) Colour in the skeleton if you want to or better still, label the bones.

Step 4) To make it balance in this gravity defying way, you have to add your weights somewhere on the skeleton….but where? Can you figure it out (answer below).

Where to add the pennies – sellotape them low down on his hands, at the back so they can’t be seen and make your friends and family wonder how you did this!!

Want more spooky science to do?

Head over to this tutorial to make Glowing Fluorescent Liquid or Glowing Orbeez here or  Spooky Halloween Slime here, or BUY our Slime Kit here.

Happy Science-ing

Ruth

Chief Scientist at Devon Science

The post Balancing Skeleton Halloween Science Activity appeared first on Devon Science.

 If you’re going to have a science party with experiments and science games, you surely have got to have a science cake as well?!

These creative confections will turn any science party into a spectacular celebration.

Chemistry Cake

These are really simple Victoria sponge cakes, with chemistry inspired decorations.

One of the cakes has little plastic bottles (these are reused, not bought new) filled with colourful liquids, one of which has spilled over, tipping green icing goo all over the cake! The “Happy Birthday” topper is widely available in supermarkets.

The others have a little bottle that seems to levitates above the cake with goo pouring out of it onto the cake below. This effect is managed by using a wooden skewer covered with icing which sticks in the cake and has the bottle (or you could use a test tube) balancing on the other end. You could use a strong pipe cleaner to prop it up (also cover it with icing) so that you can bend it around a little bit.

Both are engaging ways to introduce children to chemistry and were perfect alongside the Crazy Chemistry Party package we ran for these families. 

Space Cake

Launch your party into outer space with a space and astronaut cake that’s out of this world! Featuring blue and grey colour schemes, shimmering stars around the edge and topped with edible planets, these cakes add a “wow” touch to your space science party. It’s sure to impress little astronauts and space enthusiasts alike!

Slime Party Cake

Slime is always popular, and our slime parties are usually booked for older children, aged 8 and above. The slime-themed sponge cake is easy to make, even I would try this style myself, and I am a complete cake-novice! The edible slime-splat on top leaves no doubt that this is a slime party or a slime fanatic! Colourful decorations finish it off and these are obtained from local supermarkets or online.

Atom Cake

These 3 science cake examples all have atoms in common, the building blocks of matter, but each comes with a different budget.

The grey cake is medium priced and has the birthday child’s name written in periodic table elements, and a fun molecular decorations using icing balls.

The Rainbow cake below depicts the mixing of colourful chemicals to align with our Crazy Chemistry themed science party which has colour changing bubbly chemistry, and it has a simple paper atomic topper. This cake goes to show that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a great looking science cake.

The very tall cake you see below was very tricky to cut, but looked amazing! The text was intricate, and they added exploding stars and protons half way up, and a hand modelled test tubes and an erupting conical flask right at the top, which was perfect for the chemistry we did for his birthday party.

Harry Potter Cake

We’ve seen many Harry Potter cakes at our “Magical Potions” themed parties. Most of the time these cakes are simple sponges covered in icing with commonly found Harry Potter themed toppers, these toppers are so widely available. However, this Harry Potter cake was incredible – a Monster Book of Monsters Cake – truly spectacular.

If you’re after something a little less time consuming, then maybe Harry Potter themed cupcakes would be perfect for everyone. You can also colour the sponge inside to represent the house colours, which aren’t revealed until you bite into them….using cake to sort party guests into their houses!

Nature Cake | Savanna Cake | Farmyard Cake

I have to share this one with you. This is by far the most detailed cake we have seen at our science parties. This was for a joint party, they both loved science and agreed on having our Crazy Chemistry themed Science Party but one of the children loved farmyard animals and the other loved the savanna habitat. The cake maker made a big cake the two children could share, but half had a farm yard scene, with the other half being the savanna. The details are incredible. Every time you look at it you see something different…can you spot the spider? I love the hay bales made of mini weetabix!

Science Party Decorations

I couldn’t leave without showing you some decorations ideas that caught our eye. Yes, you can buy the usual science party decorations online but these examples below show a little more of a personal touch.

What do you think?

a welcome poster display

sweets in jumbo test tubes

guests can make edible molecules

flowers in a hanging test tube rack

science named party treats

Look at these balloons fizzing out of the conical flask! Looks amazing but it did take a long time to set up. See also that the children got cup cakes to take home with them as well as a slice of the science cake.

Final Thoughts

Science-themed cakes are the perfect way to add a touch of magic and education to your child’s science party. These creative cakes not only look fantastic but also provide an interactive and enjoyable way to learn about science. If you’d like to see more about the science parties we offer, please go here: https://devonscience.co.uk/science-parties/

Or read more about what happens at our science parties here: https://devonscience.co.uk/what-to-expect-at-our-childrens-science-birthday-parties/

Happy baking, and here’s to a party that’s scientifically sweet!

Happy science-ing

Ruth

Chief Scientist at Devon Science

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Halloween Science Glowing Orbeez

They are so easy to make at home using the ink from highlighter pens, which contains a compound called fluorescein that glows (fluoresces) under UV light. A safe and easy experiment that the children loved especially at this spooky time of year.

perfect for Halloween!

Materials

1. Glass jars with about 200mls of water in
2. Different coloured highlighter pens (we found yellow worked best)
3. Pliers or something similar to help you remove the ink cartridge from the pen
4. Protection for your work surface
5. Clear Orbeez (also known as water beads)
6. UV blacklight (torch or lamp – we used a UV lamp)

Method

First we needed to extract the ink (the fluorescein) from the cartridges.

I protected our work surfaces and using pliers I broke open the highlighter pen, removed the cartridge and popped it into the glass with about 200ml of water, and let it sit for a few minutes. I also squeezed the cartridge to help get as much ink out as possible. This ink contains the fluorescent compound, fluorescein. I used a separate container for each different coloured inks we were using. We tested yellow, green, orange and pink highlight pen inks.

You can use the extracted fluorescein in many way, not just with Orbeez, here are 2 examples that we have done recently: Spooky Liquid & Halloween Slime

Now we add the Orbeez to make Spooky Glowing Orbeez. This part is easy – I just added a handful or Orbeez to each container and let them sit overnight to swell up.

The next morning I found all the water had been absorbed, and the Orbeez were huge! However, I noticed that the pink and orange inks had left a deposit behind on the Orbeez and in the bottom of the jars, so I gave all Orbeez a rinse under running tap water in a sieve.

I popped them back into their corresponding jar, and took them to a darkened room where we switched on the UV lamp….and WOW!

We could see instantly that yellow fluoresced the brightest because the yellow ones have the highest quantity of fluorescein in. So we concentrated playing with our yellow Orbeez, and ended up mixing the others together to see what happened.

You can see the yellow Orbeez glowing the brightest

Check out the video below to see what we did and how!

If you tackle this activity at home you do so at your own risk. If you have as much fun as we did, feel free to share your pictures with us on Facebook.

More free spooky science fun this Halloween

Check out how to make own glowing spooky slime here using the same fluorescein!

For more spooky science fun head over to this tutorial to make a  gravity defying skeleton here, or buy our  Slime Kit here.

Happy science-ing

Ruth

Chief Scientist at Devon Science

The post Easy Glowing Orbeez Halloween Science appeared first on Devon Science.